9 out of 10 vets say UK pets at serious risk of diet-related diseases

RE: 9 out of 10 vets say UK pets at serious risk of diet-related diseases

Sal the 1st — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:36:19 GMT

I agree Anji education applies to both veterinary professionals and the public.Nutrition shouldnt be all about sales but all too often thats what it boils down to. Totally agree the best diet for an animal isnt neccesarily the one on sale in the waiting room

RE: 9 out of 10 vets say UK pets at serious risk of diet-related diseases

anji jonas — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:47:01 GMT

if we as veterinary professionals take the time to "properly" educate ourselves about nutrition and the types of food availible to owners we would be able to provide sound advice that owners will trust.

some owners simply cannot afford to feed premium diets (to their pets or to their families) and this should not automatically mean that the pets health suffers. education is the key here and getting owners to trust us rather than relying on the internet or guessing what is best.

it not a glamorous or fast paced subject and may well irritate our bosses if we are discussing the feeding of diets that the practice does not supply. BUT i strongly feel that if you care about your patients you will look past the adverts simply advertising food sold by the practice and give advice based on the pet, the owner and the situation they find themselves in - no matter how profitable that is to the practice!

*steps down from soapbox*

RE: 9 out of 10 vets say UK pets at serious risk of diet-related diseases

Sal the 1st — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:04:22 GMT

Firstly, yes I agree that obesity has become more and more common in practice, but as to it being taken seriously by all veterinary professionals? - I dont think so.

Its ok to raise the hue and cry now about obesity problem but it hasnt happened overnight - we knew it was coming there simply wasnt enough done by way of education.

Practices recommending and selling pet food there are two types - 1) those that care about the pet and often run effective weight management programmes and 2) those that superficially care for your pet but on a deeper level care more about the monthly sales figures and so long as you come in every month or so for your bag or food you are left to your own devices. They have no real interest in whether the pet loses weight or not.

There are a bewildering variety of foods out there and whilst yes some people are feeding unsuitable diets because of economics there are people out there feeding less than suitable diets because they dont understand the unnecessarily complicated jargon on the bag

Economic downturn leading to lower food sales - Mars and Colgate/Palmolive both huge multi national companies,'fingers in lots of pies' so probably not feeling the pinch as keenly as some of us. I appreciate the cost of grain and raw materials went up, the cost of transport went up, the cost of production or packaging went up or whatever the current explanation for price rises. Right now people are busy sorting out their own personal economic downturns, its not just about not having a wage rise this year for some its not having a job this year so yes when it comes down to feeding the family or feeding the pet a quality food guess who loses out? ie if you have a family living on 'smartprice' or 'value' range from the supermarkets are they really going to splash out on a bag of food for the dog which might be equal to their weekly earnings? (and no that isnt an exaggeration) It doesnt mean they dont care about the animals health, they are living within their means. If companies were willing to lower their profit margin then they would be selling more food. (both of my cats are fed Hills and since I started using it in 2005 the price of a 4kg bag has gone up by over £7 which I feel is excessive - yes its a good product but I find it hard to justify this expense at the moment)